The Geneology of the Goliath Family

Abstract

The chance discovery of a Herodian period family tomb at Jericho (above), spanning three generations and identifying the individuals whose bones were interred in the inscribed ossuaries, provides a unique opportunity for correlating archeological and osteological data. The purpose of this discussion and the Appendix below is: (1) to describe the nature and results' of the multidisciplinary investigation of the skeletal remains; (2) to identify individuals in terms of sex, age at death, and certain physical peculiarities; and (3) to reconstruct as far as possible the geneology of the Goliath family at Jericho. (See Hachlili above for general discussion, and especially the Family Tree, fig. 49.)' Table 1 summarizes the location of the ossuaries within the tomb, the associated inscriptions, and the osteological findings. As is frequently the case in limestone ossuaries, the bones were extremely friable and difficult to study. However, the osteological findings, with one exception, collaborated the inscriptions. The exception, Ossuary XIX, was inscribed with the names of a mother and two sons, although only the bones of one of the children, a four-year old, were identified. Several of the ossuaries contained the bones of more than one individual. Of these, Ossuary VII contained the bones of two adults, presumably mother and son (see Appendix below); Ossuary XI contained bones of an adult male and an adolescent (presumably his son); and three ossuaries (I, XVII, and XIX) contained bones of women with infants, presumably in each case mother and child. Two very small ossuaries (XVI, XXII) were inscribed with the same name, and each contained the bones of one infant. Four individuals (H10, H12, H20, and H30), all male, were extremely tall, judging from the length of the femora. The femora of H30 were 53 cm. long, giving an estimated stature of 188.5 cm., some 20 cm. taller than the mean stature for this period (165 cm.). Two males and one female, H6, H8, and H29, all showed fusion of the bodies of the twelfth thoracic vertebrae and first lumbar vertebra, and in H6 the bodies of the third and fourth thoracic vertebrae were also fused. Since the bodies were examined in situ and so could not be x-rayed, it was difficult to tell if the fusion was congenital or aquired. Finally, in one male, H19, the ankle bones (talus and calcaneum) of the right foot were fused, so that this individual must have limped badly. In all, the remains of 31 individuals were found in the ossuaries. Of these, there were 10 infants aged 05 years; one juvenile aged I11-12; two adolescents aged 16-18 years; two young females and three males aged 20-39; three females and two males in the 40-50 age range; and only two females, but four males, over 50 at the time of death. Only 38% died before the age of 20, compared with 48% in Greece for the same period (Angel 1969: 343-53). In general, infant mortality among Jews in Judaea at this time was lower than that of other Mediterranean countries and resembles that found in 19th century Bedouin (Goldstein et al. 1976: 633). Similarly, a higher percentage of individuals reached old age among the Jewish population (Table 2). These figures conform to those recorded for other Jewish remains of this period, with the